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[RC] Howard's rant to me - Lauren/GaryHoward and others, To quote you, " I speak my mind." Well, so do I! I call a spade a spade. You certainly have the right to voice your opinion as well as I do. I have no objections to you speaking your mind. However, in all your "tirades" you appear to me to be just grasping at straws with no real objectivity to fixing the problem. Don't EVER call me a rider out there eager to "earn those miles and points" cause that isn't who I am. The fastest 50 I have ever done was around 7 hours so I am no speed demon. I am far more interested in the miles than points. I am offended that you think that I don't care about horses dying. Anyone who knows me knows that that is my greatest fear. I have stated before and will reiterate to you that any rule that the HWC comes up with that they think will prevent deaths will be supported by me. They will have done the research and will come up with something more "concrete" that they hope will move us forward in preventing horses dying. I am fortunate in that my measly 950 miles I have never even come close to having a metabolic failure. I am extremely cautious with my horses and am far more interested in finishing a ride with a happy, healthy horse than getting any points or top tenning. No horse death is acceptable to me and especially one that I "caused." Good grief. If I had happen to me what happened to you and Dance Line I would probably have called it quits right then and there. It must have been terrifying. I was terrified just reading your story. But, I have to say, that you went and did it again with another horse. To me, something is wrong with this picture and there is something that you just "don't get." And, by the way, I have "mentored" some other riders. When with me, who rides slowly and cautiously, they do fine. But, I had one friend who thought we had gone too slow (10+ hr) (yeah, I'm a speed demon!) so on the next ride (that I wasn't riding in) she had decided that she needed to speed up the pace. Alas, not only did her horse get in metabolic trouble at the 25 mile mark, she was also suffering from heat stroke herself. The horse did not need treatment, but was monitored very closely by the vet and myself for hours. I believe that she learned her lesson and will never do that again. On a ride this past summer I saw a VERY experienced rider push his horse to the edge on a 100 mile ride. This horse did need treatment. The horse lived and no longer belongs to that rider. That rider was mentored by a high profile rider who has repeatedly had horses die. Is that a good mentor?? Did he learn his lesson? It's highly doubtful, considering his mentor's track record. Do new riders kill horses? Maybe. But, from my observation, it is the high profile riders and "experienced" riders that this happens to more frequently. Somebody must have the stats on this. I firmly believe that there is "stuff going on" in the stomach that we just don't know how to identify and when you have a stoic horse (I have one) that gives no indication at the vet checks that something isn't right it is up to YOU to "read your horse" and they will hopefully tell you in some other way that you will listen to and recognize that he ADR. And, I repeat my question, why does none of this happen on multi days?? Maybe we should just leave our horses in the pasture and just look at them quietly grazing. If you like rules dictating the speed, etc. there is already one out there called CTR and at the other end of the spectrum, one called FEI. Perhaps you should consider trying CTR or try to qualify for FEI rides. So Howard, IF (and that's the really big question) new rules will truly prevent horses from dying and still keep the "integrity" of the sport called endurance, I'll be the first one on board. And Howard, I am not a flag waving member of the "I hate Howard Club" (yet!) and I do believe that you are passionate about this issue. But, I am getting really tired of all your proselytizing. Let's leave it to the HWC and see what they come up with. That's the end of my tirade and I am truly not trying to offend anyone, Truman and Howard included:) Lauren Double 8 Ranch Cody, WY =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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